Declining Offers of Admissions

<p>If you've sent in your reply cards, you're all set. You don't need to send an additional e-mail. E-mail is only if you don't have/have lost a reply card.</p>

<p>Some of the colleges I am not planning on attending have little cards I can fill out but others I have no clue. I got some small scholarships and I know I should thank the schools but how formal does the decline have to be?</p>

<p>Can it be via email? Or is snail mail better?</p>

<p>(I know I saw a s\imilar thread but I cannot find it, if someone would direct me that would be great too)</p>

<p>bump. i really need to know. sorry!</p>

<p>E-mail is sufficient.</p>

<p>thank you to whoever moved my question here!</p>

<p>So to matriculate into a school we send in a deposit, but how do we tell our other schools that we're not coming? Do we just do nothing?</p>

<p>Most schools give you enrollment forms (with the option "I will not be attending Prestigious University. I will attend _____") to mail in. If you don't have it, either because they didn't send it or you lost it, email them from the email on your app requesting a withdrawal from waitlist/rejection of offer.</p>

<p>If I SIR somewhere, do I have to decline all others (or can I just let them expire)? Please only answer if you are 100% positive...Thanks.</p>

<p>You can let them expire...if they haven't heard from you by the deadline, the schools assume you aren't coming. That's the purpose of the deadline.</p>

<p>Edit: nevermind</p>

<p>Admissions officer: "Do I have to inform the applicants that they didn't get in? If they don't get anything by April 1, won't they assume they didn't get in?"</p>

<p>Please. Of course you should tell them. Four reasons:</p>

<p>1) Let's say that your SIR gets lost in the mail. It does happen. Do you really want the school to "assume" that you're not coming and give your spot away to someone on their waitlist? (You know what happens when you "assume" - you make an "ass" out of "u" and "me.")</p>

<p>2) Suppose you want to transfer next year. Also happens. Do you really want to burn all your bridges?</p>

<p>3) You might make the day of someone on the waitlist.</p>

<p>4) It's good practice for learning to exercise manners, which you will need to do in "real life" - send thank you notes for interviews, etc.</p>

<p>It takes 30 seconds or so to send back a reply card or to send a "thanks but no thanks" e-mail. You took the time to apply, didn't you? Take the time now to say no.</p>

<p>I agree it's a courtesy. However, my D let all of her lapsed except for the one she's intended to register. But I'm done nagging about college stuff.</p>

<p>Ditto re everything Chedva said. </p>

<p>My son got a really nice letter from one of the universities he declined, suggesting that he should get in touch if he changes his mind and to keep them in mind for grad school/future studies. I thought that was very nice.</p>

<p>It's good to let them know because you never know what your future holds for you.</p>

<p>This year the UC acceptance letters said, "To accept your spot, log on to this site, etc..." The point is, nothing was said about what to do if you did not want to accept and there were no cards to mail back this year. I do think accepting a spot online makes more sense than relying on the US Postal Service but then it would seem you don't need to worry about declining a spot.</p>

<p>I'm pretty much just being extremely paranoid at this moment, but please bear with me: </p>

<p>I was accepted at a couple of places (Cornell, Northwestern, JHU etc.) that I did not plan to attend. Being caught on senioritis as I was, I did not bother to tell these schools about my plans (MANY MANY APOLOGIES to people still on waiting list >.<)
so, right now, I'm thinking...will the schools retaliate in any way? Crazy right? But it's bothering the heck out of me.....</p>

<p>A. They can't and won't do anything.
B. Tell them now.
C. Take a nap.</p>

<p>D. They'll call up the school to which you're planning to attend and say, "ayo B, dis dude collegeappwoes be trippin maaad hard, don't you be lettin him in, iight?"</p>

<p>They will send a representative who happens to be 6 foot 6, 350 LBS to have a little talk with you in a dark alley. Unless of course that school is Duke, in which case they will taunt you with a guy dancing around in his underwear while you're shooting free throws in your local intramural game.</p>

<p>I'm in a similar situation.
I told one college I'll be attending, but didn't tell the other colleges about NOT attending. My parents are paranoid about something going wrong (in communicating with the college that I have accepted), so they want me to wait until for sure that the college has received my deposit. </p>

<p>I don't think they'll do anything if you don't respond.</p>